Apparatus for foiling or packaging



Jan. 15, 1957 LAKSb I 2,777,265

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HEINO E. Lmns BY m-rcmwev APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING Jan. 15, 1957 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 FL'E S Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 22. 1952 INVENTOR. Ema E. |.A\ :n

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Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING 14 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 lllllllllL W. V 2 1m; M P" R IL O O m. w

Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO 2,777,265

APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING Filed Aug. '22, 1952 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 Ema E. Lm so 17E. IG

Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO 2,777,265

APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING Filed Aug. 22, 1952 l4 Sheets-Sheet 9 IN V EN TOR. E: No E. Lax-5a BY M lf-rronA/sv Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING l4 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 ZOO INVENTOR. Ema E. LA\ so fiTT e/vsv Jan. 15, 1957' Filed Aug. 22, 1952 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING 14 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR.

Ema E. LAKSo Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING Filed Aug. 22, .1952

14 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTOR. Elmo E. Lm s BY a5 ILI fi-r-rolewsv Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING l4 Sheets-Sheet 13 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 illlL il? INVEN TOR.

flrraewsv Jan. 15, 1957 E. E. LAKSO APPARATUS FOR FOILING OR PACKAGING 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 INVENTOR.

United States Paton-t APPARATUS FOR FOEHQG OR'PACKAGING Eino E. Lakso, Fitchburg,- Mass., assignor toSterling Drug Inc., New York', Na Y.,a--corporation ofDelaware Application August 22, 1952, Serial No. 305,822

16' Claims. (Cl: 53-494) This invention relates to new and improvedapparatus for toiling or otherwise coveringartic'les, packaging, etc.; and moreparticularly to the formation and 'appli'catioaof a complete. foil or other covering to a container; principally of the type used forampoules; however, the invention is not limited to any particular size, shape. or use of container.

One of the principal objectsof the invention resides in the provision of apparatus for preparing afoilcovering for a container was to completely coverthe same and render it impervious to the entrance or exit of moisture or gas; the provision of apparatus employing two separate tapes or ribbons of foiling-materialor the like, which tapes are preferably traveledthrough sterilizing apparatus, and in a completely automatic manner thetapes are cut off, one of them is slit in a particular mannerto'be described, the cut-off foil piecesarethen formed'into concave pockets having fiat rims that are tobe joined, and are held in a novel manner while the ampoule or other container is inserted in the thus formed pocket or the like, the apparatus then continuing in an automatic manner to bring one cut and'formed piece of foil'over upon the other out and formed piece of foil to completely enclose the ampoule or other container or article.

Another object of the invention residesin thejprovision of the apparatus above described including a transfer mechanism that operates automatically to remove the foiled container from said apparatus, apply heat and pressure to the mating flat edges of the foil exterior of the confines of the container therein so as to heat-seal'the same in an impervious manner thereabout, without, however, sealing an extending flat part occasioned by the piece of foil having the slits therein as above described, thus forming a tear tab, and the provision of "trimming means, the heat-sealing and trimming'means being associated with transfermech'anis'm' that automatically removes the foiled container from the forming and applying mechanism and deposits the same heat sealed and trimmed ready for'deposition in cartons or boxes.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of an automatically operating turret, that receives the leading ends of two foil ribbons or tapes and in step-by-step rotation effects cutting off and sealing of one cut-off foil piece, forming the pieces into two concavely pocketed parts in one of which the container to be foiled may be deposited and then still automatically bringing one part down over upon the other'to close and seal the contained article, further in combination with transferring means to remove the thus foiled article from the turret, heat-seal, label, trim, and place the article in position for packaging.

A still further object of the invention resides in the apparatus for forming theslits referred to above Lin only one of each pair of cut-ofi foil pieces, the slits-forming a tear tab for opening the covered article; and theprovision of these slits in aparticular-manner so-that .they appear in an extendingtab-atone sideionlvv ofithe'finished article, the other side of which being unslitted', forms a base or area for the application of the label.

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is "to be hadto' the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the progress of the foiling or covering tapes during the process;

Fig. 2 isacam cycle chart of the entire machine;

Fig. 3 is a viewin front-elevation of th'emachine;

'Fig. 4 is a view in rear elevation of the sterilizing chamber;

Fig. 5 is an-enlargedvertical section-showingthe relative positions of the reels for the foil strips;

Fig. 6 is an end-elevation, partly in section,- illus-trating the sterilization chamber;

Fig; 7 is a viewin sideelevation, partly in section, showing-the mechanismtor cutting off the foil;

Fig. 8-is'an-enlarged 'planview otthe bed-plate knife of 'the'cut-ofi? apparatus;

Fig.- 9 is an enlarged view, partly in -section,-of'the cutoff knife and foil-holding means' therefor;

Fig. 10 isa view-in elevation, showing the outwit-knife in contactwiththe formingblock;

Fig. 1 1 is'a view, partly in =section,-of'the foil slitting means;

Fig. 12'is aplan view of the-foil cut-oif knife and slitter mechanism;

Fig. 13 isasectiongtaken on line' 13-43 ofiFig. 12;

Fig..14 is a plan view of"the f0unstation:turret, parts beingin section andparts omitted for clarity;

Fig. 15 is a-vertical sectional'iview. of the turret;

Fig. 16 Ba planview withparts in section, showing the indexing mechanism. for. rotating the turret;

Fig. 17 is a view in elevation of the'transfer mechanism from the turret;

Fig. .18 is a'perspective view. of; one of the. forming blocks;

Fig. 19 is a view -in elevation. of the block. of-Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism for transferring: the foiled articles" from the turret;

0Fig. 21 is a section. of the transfer mechanism-of Fig. 2

Fig. 22is a'rear elevation of a part of the operating means of the transfer mechanism;

Fig. 23 is alview in elevati-onof the sealing mechanism;

Fig. 24 isa front elevationthereof;

Fig. 25 isa side elevation of the trimming mechanism;

Fig. 26 is a rear elevation-thereof;

Fig. 27 is a view in side elevation of the label transfer device;

Fig. 28 is. an enlarged view in front elevation of the labeling. apparatus;

Fig. 29-is a cross section of the label chute on an" enla rged scale; and

Fig. 30 is an auxiliary view of the labeling transfer member, partly in section.

In. thewrapping, packaging, and containing of many materials, it is a primary objective to accomplish the .same in a sanitary and evensterile manner,.to provide against the entrance or exit of any gas'or liquid, and to form at the-same" time a complete package which is easily used, stored and transported. In the present instance, the apparatus is concerned with the foiling, or other covering of medical ampoules of general. rectangular, or similar shape, but there are many other materials, shapes, covers,,etc. inwhich theasame-problem or some of them areconeerned and which this. invention also covers.

In the. presentcase, the general mode of operation comprises the: provision of ra pairaof' sources of the: covering material, preferably lfoil. These sources provide end severed to form a pair of small cut pieces 14 and 16 and a leading edge of the piece 16 is slit to a slight extent as at 18 inwardly from the leading edge therer of. At this point, forming blocks 20 and 21 are moved to a supporting position for the cut pieces of foil or ribbon and then carry the same to the pocket-forming position b.

In this position, the forming members 24, 26 descend with relation to blocks 20 and 21 and form a pair of downwardly extending pockets as indicated at 28 and 30 in the respective cut foil pieces 14 and 16. The pockets in this case are generally centrally located transversely but are located nearer one end than the other, so that the pockets when combined will be midway between the inner ends of slits 18 and the trailing edge of the respective cut pieces of foil.

The forming blocks are then advanced to a container loading position where the ampoule or other article 32 is inserted in the pocket 30 in the cut foil piece 16 and automatically the form block 20 is pivoted around and down to place the cut piece 14 in superposed relation relative to the cut piece 16, and the form blocks in this relation are then continued to station d.

At station d, the now foil-covered article is automatically removed fromthe form blocks and the mating foil edges are heat-sealed in the flat portions as indicated at 34, so that the article is now completely covered and impervious, and thereafter the covered article is automatically transferred to a labeling and trimming station 1 where label 36 is applied, the edges are trimmed, and the complete package is transferred to a station for packing in a carton or the like. An ampoule that may be processed in this machine is shown in copending application Serial No. 200,322, filed December 12, 1950, now abandoned.

Fig. 2 is a cam cycle which will be more apparent hereinafter when the entire mechanism and mode of op eration has been fully described.

Fig. 3 discloses the outline of a machine forming the basis for carrying out the operations above described. This machine may comprise a base or the like 38 of any desired or convenient form, which contains a motor 39. appropriately geared or belted to drive the turret 40 in intermittent step-by-step relation as well as a main cam shaft which is generally indicated at 42 and from which most of the motions of the machine are derived. The stations a, b, c and d are all located on the turret and of course continuously travel in a circle unidirectionally in steps. The trimming, sealing and labeling take place on frame 43.

Referring now to Figs. 4, and 6, there is here shown apparatus for the initiation of the operations, including an enclosed frame or housing, generally indicated at 44 and containing a pair of hubs 46 and 48, each of which rotatably mounts a reel of foil or other covering material 50 and 52. Appropriate tension means 54 may be used to keep the tape in uniformly flat condition. The reel 50 provides a tape or ribbon, generally indicated at 56, and reel 52 and another tape, generally indicated at 58. These tapes are located in side-by-side relation, as the reels are located in offset relation (see Fig. 5). Both tapes 56 and 58 pass under an idler roller 60, through a sterilizing chamber 62 containing sterilizing tube 64, over a roller 66 and through another sterilizing chamber 68 passing out at 70 to initiate the operation at station a.

The operations at stationa are shown and described in Figs. 7 to 13 inclusive. The two parallel side-by-side tapes and 12 enter the mechanism of station a at 72, where there are a pair of members forming a guideway therefor as at 74. A pair of feeding wheels 76 are operated by a pawl-andratchet mechanism indicated at 78, the ratchet being mounted on a shaft 80 and the pawl a-177,2 v W i being operated by a cam mechanism derived from the main cam shaft. Frictional feed means is achieved by means of idle rollers 82 mounted on brackets 81. The tension of these rolls may be adjusted by any conventional means desired, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The tapes therefor proceed in step-by-step relation from guideway 74 to guideway 84 and pass onto an anvil, generally indicated at 86. This anvil is illustrated in detail in Fig. 8 and comprises a shearing edge at 88 for cutting off both of the tapes at lines 90 and 91, and this is accomplished by a knife blade 92 mounted on a vertical reciprocating knife block 94 operated vertically by a push rod 96 in turn operated by a cam on a main cam shaft or deriving its motion therefrom.

The knife block 94 incorporates a roller 98 which of course descends therewith and after the cuts 90 and 91 have been made, the roller 98 strikes a slitting block 100, the same including a pair of knife edges at 102 which cooperate with shearing edges 104 (see Fig. 8) to form two slits 18 in the leading edge of the next part of the strip or ribbon 12 which is advancing. The slitting block is mounted on a leaf spring 106, so that it is always returned to its upper inactive position indicated in Fig. 7. At the same time, a cutting block 108 is depressed by the slitter 100 and also returns to upper normal position because it is supported on a leaf spring 110. There have now been formed a pair of side-by-side short pieces of covering material as at 14 and 16, the piece 16 having slits 18 at the leading edge thereof.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 9, the knife block 94 is provided with vacuum ports 112 serviced from a main vacuum 114 and as the pieces of foil are cut off, these vacuum ports tend to cause the cutoff pieces of foil to adhere to the underside of the knife block, the cut off pieces of foil are carried therewith. In order to insure this operation, a wiper member 116 is drawn forwardly along the bottom of the foil to be cut off, this wiper mem ber preventing the leading end of the foil from dropping down to too great an extent to be picked up by the bottom edge of the knife block. The wiper member is mounted on an arm 118 which is pivoted on a pin 120 under influence of a roller 122 also located and movable with the knife block. As the roller 122 descends, it strikes a finger 124 depressing member 118 and causing retraction to the left in Fig. 9 of the wiper 116, so that the foil is placed in position to be accurately picked up by the vacuum described.

The first operation on the turret is now about to commence and this involves the transference of the cut pieces of foil from the vacuum adhered position on the knife block 94 to forming blocks 20 and 21 that are located on the turret. The rotation of the turret is so timed as to bring the forming blocks under the knife block at the instant of maximum retraction of member 118 as shown in broken lines in Fig. 9, so that the forming blocks enter under the knife block as clearly shown in Fig. 10. At this point, the vacuum is automatically cut off by a valve operated by a cam from the cam shaft or by any other convenient means, and the respective foils are deposited on the respective forming blocks 20 and 21.

Turning now to Figs. 14 et seq., the cut pieces of foil have progressed to station a shown therein at the top of Fig. 14, it being remembered that Fig. 14 is a plan view of the turret which rotates intermittently on a vertical axle or the like indicated at 126. This axle is intermittently rotated in step-by-step relation by means of an index wheel or ratchet 128 shown in Fig. 16 and operated by a pawl 130. The pawl is pivoted at 132 on a part of a linkage 133 to obtain an oscillating motion to turn the ratchet 128 and the linkage 133 derives its motion from alever 134 oscillated by a cam roll 136 in turn motivated by a cam 138 driven from the main cam shaft. It will be seen that at each step the turret is indexed 90".

.A friction brake 140 pivoted on shaft 142 causes an im e a e t i n of heratch t.llhshdjthathrt h A spring 144 mounted in aboss .1 provides. a eonstant pressure which, howeven'maybe adjusted as bythescrew 148.

Referring now to Figs. 14 and l ;the f ormmg blocks are shown at station ain correspo d ngrelaton to the showing thereof in Fig. 1 andindividually receivethe cut pieces of foil from the bottom snrface of the knife block 94 as described. A.9.0 index. then occurs'in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 14 and stati on bis reached whereat the formers 24 and 26 descend under automatic conditions to create the pockets- 28 nand 3tt inthe two ,individual pieces of foil restingv on f ornring blocks20 and 21. Each former contains a removable, and replace- .able shaping means 150 in a depression 162 (see Fig. 1). As the formers. descend under action ofthe push rod 154, a ,V-block 156 takes into, a tooth 15810 positively locate the turret and the formingblocks in complete angular registration.

Another 90 indexing then-takes place to station 0. At

.this station, an articlelocator 160' antomatieally swings 270" into positionoverthefoil 16. Thislocator corn- ,prises an open framethroughwhich the arn ponle or other article is manually or otherwise. dropped,iritqthedepression or pocket 30 mine foilpiece, 1 6. The motionof this locator is achieved bynaeansof a rack 162 in conjunction vwith a pinion 164 on ashaft 166, theshaft mounting the locator in aepivptal manner and swinging it from ya depending vertical position around the 27 U"to a horiof the way by an opposite motion of rack 162, rack 1 68 is operative to swing form block and its :foil 14 through 180 to overlie form block 21 and its foil 16 in superposed relation with respect thereto. The raeks 162 are conveniently operated by cams in the tiined relation required for the operations recited, and the article is now completely covered by the two pieces offoil which are in contacting, superposed relation but which are not yet sealed together.

Another index now takes place to station d and it will be seen that the locato r is now back in inoperative position. Station d is a transfer station where the foil-covered article generally indicated at 1 74-is to be removed as by a special transfer mechanism to be described, heat-sealed at the contacting edges of-the wrapping material, trimmed, labeled and moved out of the machine to a cartoning or packaging position. At station d, the rack 168 is moved in the opposite direction to rotate pinion 170 to again open form block 20 and the two pieces of foil are advantageously held in position on the form -bloc k 20 by vacuum or suction means acting through the passages.

176 shown in Figs. 18 and 19.

The mechanism for transferring the foil-covered article from the form block 21 and out of the turretis shown in Figs. 20, 21 and 17. In general this mechanism comprises two pairs of fingers indicated at 178 and 180, and a single finger 182. All of these fingers operate more or less on the principle of a pair of scissors without, however, doing any cutting, merely to grasp the covered article by the flat edges thereof and move the same. "-The live fingers referred to are all mounted on aiframe-184 that moves horizontally between the solid line position and the broken line position 186 in Fig. 20, and this element is thusoscillated by means of a lever 188 on a verticalshaft 190, in turn oscillated by an arm 192 under influence of a cam 194 on the main cam shaft 42. I rssjhasa roller 1915 there-,

6 e yvhichphsas ba s s-1 42 0. to. acc mp ish; the purpose stated, bosses 198 and,200..bcing.lfl9lild..0n the frame 184.

At the same time, thepfrarne 184 is movedin a direction transverse to that described by means.of rods. ,202 which may be operated by a vertical oscillating lever 224. Thus the frame 184 reciprocates in a single plane successively forwardly, to the side, b ackwardly, and returns to the original position.

At the same time these operations takeplace, asolemold 206 is operatedin timed relation and has a plunger 208 to exert a forward pressure. on a rod 210, depressing a button 212 on an arm 214 againstthe action of aspring 216 to raise the fingers 178, and 182 in unison. This action occurs, on the forward motion of the frame 184. The fingers 178, 180 and 182 are rnounted on a pivot shaft 218 and thus achieve the upand .down motiondescribed relative to the frame. 184.

A m (F -3 p at s o a r llermzzltqosc late a lever 224 in turn oscillating aroller .2 As cam 2 20 rotates, the lever 24 causes a forward and baekmo- .ti f hh l Wh chp ess s 9 hinclihcd bloc 228 a t b k is att e to t et in,..mu1 i-pa .support 185, which in turn is pivoted on rod23 0, so that support ts m r Bran d th fin rs .8. 180, and 182 moving down and up thereon in timed relation thereto to grasp, and letgo alternately.

The result of these compoundmotions is thatfingers 178 open, move forwardly and close,relativetothethin support 185, to grasp the edges of the foilaboutthearticle therein, then theclosed fingers and the container move to the right in Fig. 20 where heat-sealing pressure is applied. The fingers at this point openancl the entire frame is retracted, thengoing to the left to repeatthe operation.

When the operation is repeated the now heat-sealed ampoule is taken up in exactly the same. manner bythe fingers 180, again in conjunction with corresponding support 185,1and is transferred one further step tothe right whereit is trimmed and the label is applied. At the next cycle, the single finger 182 and its correspondingsupport part grasp the now finished covered article: and remove it from the labeler to a position where it may be packed. There is extra width to the foil over the width of the block 21, sealers, etc. to allow the fingers to grasp the covered article at the edges. v

The device for accomplishing the sealing action'is shown in Figs. 23 and 24 and comprises briefly aheatsealing platen 240 heated by means of units whieh may be located in a housing 242. The fingers 1 78 bring the joint cover pieces (and covered article) to the station having a platen indicated at 244 and open to leave ,the covered container there, while in timed relation the platen 240 descends about its pivot 246 and accomplishes the heat-sealing function. The platens 24 0 and 244 are relieved as shown in dotted lines to leave the area between the slits 18 of the pieces in unsealed condition. The weight 248 is designed toaccomplish an even, co nstant action and pressureduring this heat-sealingoperation, and the spring 250 insures correct timed action of the platen relative to the fingers. v I l l The action is initiated by the push-rod 252 actuated by a lever 254 deriving action in turn from the main cam shaft. The lower platen 244 may be heated by units in the member 256. 7

Fingers 180 then come in and pick up the heat-sealed article and transfer it from the heat-sealing apparatus to the trimming and labeling apparatus disclosed in Figs. 25 to 30 inclusive and it is to beunderstood that the heat- .sealing apparatus and'the trimming and labeling apparatus are arranged in line so .that the fingersintheir 'reciprocatory travel will bring the covered devices along the line desired from station a of the turret.

The fingers 180 therefore carry the covered articleto a platen258, whereupon the fingers open and ahead 260 de cend This hea a Pa houl e s whis The label is applied at the same time by heat-sealing means and the labeling mechanism comprises a chute 268 (seen in cross section in Fig. 29) having an open-ended lower end from which the labels are extracted one-byone by means of a swinging linkage, generally indicated at 270. This linkage is actuated by a push-rod 272, in turn actuated by means of a cam on the main cam shaft.

The member 270 is provided with a label-receiving bed or the like at 274 and this is provided with vacuum means to extract a label from the bottom of the chute in the broken line position in Figs. 27 and 28. The motion therefore is downwardly and to the right from the chute, the platen 274 then aligning with a heated platen 276 (see Fig. 25). Vacuum means transfers the label to the platen and as the head 260 descends, the label has an interval of heating by means of heating elements in head 260 and the label is therefore heat-sealed to the area of the covered article that is not slit as at 36 (see Fig. 1). It is to be noted that the slits 18 are always underneath and the covering piece 14 is always uppermost after station is departed from so that the label 36 is applied to piece 14 which is unslit and not the piece 16 which is slit.

The slits provide a tear tab by which means the device may be opened manually simply by grasping the edge of the material between the slits and tearing inwardly, so that a triangular tear is made extending into the area of the article contained within the cover.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the class described comprising a sourc of a plurality of ribbons of covering material, means ad-- vancing said ribbons, means for cutting off short pieces from the leading ends of the advancing ribbons, pocketforming means providing a pocket in each cut-off piece, and means moving one piece angularly about an axis to overlie the other piece forming a closed pocket between the pieces, and label applying means for applying a label to the said one piece.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising a source of advancing parallel ribbons or tapes in side-by-side relation, means to sever both ribbons, means to slit but one severed ribbon, means forming pockets in each cut piece, means locating an object for insertion in the pocket of the slit piece, means turning the unslit piece over upon the slit piece and its object, and means to seal the pieces together at the edges of the combined'pockets.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a source of advancing generally co-planar. ribbons or tapes, means to out both ribbons, means to slit but one ribbon, means forming a pocket in the slit cut piece, means locating a container for insertion in the pocket of the slit piece, means turning the unslit piece over upon the slit piece and its container, means to seal the pieces together, the

slit piece being under the unslit piece, and label-applying means to apply a label to the area of the unslit piece superposed on the slit area of the slit piece.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising means to advance a pair of parallel tapes, means to cut them off in pieces, blocks supporting the cut pieces, pockets in the blocks, means to cause the cut pieces to conform to said pockets, means to turn one block over upon the other to align the pieces and form a container cover,

means to separate the blocks, means to seal the pieces together, and transfer means located between the block separating means and the sealing means to remove the cover from the blocks and deposit the same at the sealing means.

5. Apparatus of the class described comprising means to advance a pair of parallel tapes, means to cut them otf in pieces, blocks supporting the cut pieces, means forming pockets in the cut pieces,'means to turn one block over upon the other to align the pieces and'form a container cover, means to separate the blocks, means to seal the pieces together, and transfer means to remove the cover from the blocks and deposit thesame at the-sealing means, saidtransfer means including fingers and means to open and close the fingers in timed relation to the block separating means to grasp the cover while the blocks are separated.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 including a second pair of fingers operated to advance the sealed cover from the sealing means.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 including a second pair of fingers operated to advance the sealed cover from the sealing means, a labeling device in line with the sealing means, the second pair of fingers transferring the cover from the sealing means thereto simultaneously with the transfer of a subsequent cover to the sealing means from the blocks.

8. The apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of concave forming blocks, means to supply pieces of material thereto, means to form a pocket in each piece of material in cooperation with the respective blocks, means to turn one block over onto the other in aligned relation to form a closed cover between blocks, means to separate the blocks, separable fingers, means to advance the fingers to encompass the cover, means to close the fingers thereon, means to travel the fingers bodily away from the blocks carrying the cover, a sealing mechanism, and means causing the fingers to move the cover to the sealing mechanism.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 including a rotary turret, said blocks being on the turret, and said fingers bodily movement being to and away from the turret.

10. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for advancing a plurality of ribbons of covering material in side-by-side relation to a cut-off station, means at the cut-ofi station for cutting ofi short pieces from the leading ends of the advancing ribbons, means for advancing the cut off pieces to a pocket-forming station having pocket-forming means for providing a pocket in at least one cut off piece to receive an article to be packaged, means at a separate station for turning the other piece over about an axis. to overlie the pocketed piece forming a closed pocket between the pieces, and means for edge sealing the pieces together. i

11. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for advancing a plurality of co-planar ribbons of covering material to a cut-off station, means at the cut-off station for cutting otf short pieces from the leading ends of the advancing ribbons, means at the cut-ofi station to slit one piece, means for advancing the cut off pieces to a pocket-forming station having pocket-forming means for providing a pocket in at least one cut ofi piece to receive an article to be packaged, means at a separate station for turning one piece over to overlie the other piece forming a closed pocket between the pieces, and means for securing the pieces together while leaving the slit area unsecured.

12. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for advancing a plurality of ribbons of covering material to a cut-oiistation, means at the cut-otf station for cutting off short pieces from the leading ends of the advancing ribbons, means at the cut-off station to slit one piece, means for advancing the cut oif pieces to a pocketforming station having pocket-forming means for providing a pocket in at least one cut off piece to receive an article to be packaged, and means at a separate station for turning one piece over to overlie the other piece forming a closed pocket between the pieces, and means at another station to seal the pieces together except at the slit area. 7

l3. Apparatusof the class described comprising means for advancing a plurality of co-planar ribbon-like'tapes of covering material. to a cut-off station, means at the cut-elf station for intermittently cutting oti relatively 9 short pieces from said advancing tapes, a pocket-forming station having pocket-forming means providing a pocket in one cut piece, an article supplying station having object locating means for said one piece, whereby the object may be accurately placed in the pocket of one said piece,

means to move the locating means into and out of general registry with the pocket, means to move the other piece into superposed relationship With the pocketed piece to form a completely covered article, and means to move the cut-cit pieces from station to station.

14. Apparatus of the class described comprising means to advance a plurality of ribbon-like tapes of covering material to a cut-off station, means at the cut-off station for intermittently cutting otf relatively short pieces from said advancing tapes, a pocket-forming station having pocket-forming means providing a pocket in at least one cut piece, an article supplying station having locating means for an object to be stored in the pocket, means to move the locating means into and out of general registry with the pocket, whereby the object may be accurately placed in the pocket of one said piece, means to move the other piece into superposed relationship with the one piece to form a completely covered article, means at a separate station to seal the pieces together at the edges thereof, and means to move the cut-ofi pieces from station to station in timed relation.

15. Apparatus of the class described comprising means advancing a plurality of ribbons of covering material to a cut-off station, means at the cut-off station for cutting off short pieces from the leading ends of the advancing ribbons, means at the cut-off station to slit one piece, a pocket-forming station having pocket-forming means providing a pocket in at least one cut-oil piece, an article supplying station having means turning one piece over to overlie the other piece forming a closed pocket between the pieces, article locating means for one piece for accu rately positioning an article in said pocket, means to move the locating means into and out of alignment with the pocket, means at a separate station to seal the pieces together except at the slit area, and means to move the cut-off pieces from station to station in timed relation.

16. Apparatus of the class described comprising a tur' ret, a series of pairs of concave forming blocks thereon for travel therewith from station to station, means to apply a hat piece of covering material to each block at one station, means forming a concave pocket in each piece as it rests on its block at another station, means for locating an article in one pocket, means inverting the unloaded block to pivot over to deposit the piece thereon upon the article and loaded piece, means to separate the blocks at another station, means for securingthe pairs of pocketed pieces of covering material together at their edges whereby a packaged article is obtained, and means for rotating the turret to advance the forming blocks and their contents from station to station.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 968,146 Giround Aug. 23, 1910 1,387,805 Roberts Aug. 16, 1921 1,481,866 Heist Jan. 29, 1924 1,575,388 Roberts Mar. 2, 1926 2,302,846 Farmer Nov. 24, 1942 2,364,870 Otto Dec. 12, 1944 2,494,484 Nicolle Jan. 10, 1950 2,502,738 Nicolle Apr. 4, 1950 

